Ancient Rome Key Terms

dictator

• a leader elected by the people to serve for a fixed term

• a person in the ancient Roman Republic appointed to rule for six months in times of emergency, with all the power of a king

• a military general who leads troops in battle

• a monarch who inherits the throne and rules for life

messiah

• a savior in Judaism and Christianity

• a type of ancient manuscript

• a title for a political leader

• a form of religious ritual

republic

• a type of government in which citizens select their leaders

• a system where a monarch rules without limits

• a form of government where the military controls the state

• a political system where decisions are made by a single ruler

epistle

• A type of ancient manuscript

• In the Christian Bible, letters written by disciples

• A form of poetry

• A historical novel

disciple

• a follower of a person or belief

• a leader of a movement

• a critic of a philosophy

• a teacher of a doctrine

Jesus

• founder of Christianity; believed by Christians to be the Messiah

• a famous philosopher from Greece

• a prophet in Islam

• a historical figure with no religious significance

plebeian

• a member of the aristocracy in ancient Rome

• an ordinary citizen in the ancient Roman Republic

• a military leader in ancient Rome

• a wealthy merchant in ancient Rome

gladiator

• a person who fought to the death as entertainment for the Roman public

• a type of ancient Roman armor

• a famous Roman general

• a form of Roman architecture

polytheism

• a belief in more than one god

• a belief in a single god

• the worship of nature

• the rejection of all gods

province

• a unit of an empire

• a type of currency

• a geographical feature

• a form of government